May 13, 2021. Madison, Mississippi. Pam S.

I met Pam at a dinner party the first year we started to spend time in Mississippi in 2009. Three facts about Pam became apparent to me. She was extremely thin. Her speach was difficult to understand. At the dinner table she did not eat or drink. I knew she was the mother of Jim, who was married to Eleanor, and Cheryl, married to Sabastian. She and her husband attended all our parties and dinners. And she was always enthusiastic and gracious. And they left early. When we moved into this house, I started inviting her for coffee, except she did not drink coffee. But we talked and we both enjoyed our visits. So since the Spring of 2015, we have become good friends. She is the most religious person I have ever known and she takes her situation with no complaints. In fact she thinks that difficulties in life are as much a part of a Christian life as the joys. She has cancer of the tongue. The disease keeps coming back so for many years and multiple surgeries and radiations she is left unable to swallow or to speak easily. Her situation is much worse than mine. Just last December she had a port installed so she can get caloriesx through the tube. She is pleased with that and she says she feels much better. Her spirit and spunk are remarkable. She is fun and funny. And she does something else unusual. Every day she prays for everyone on her prayer list, which includes friends and everyone of her friends children and grandchildren. So every day, she prays by name for me and everyone in my family that she knows. Each grandchildren is prayed for by name. And she prays for my family she met when Ken died. I bet you that Dave & Irene, Wendy & Alana and Norm do not know that a kindly lady in Mississippi was praying for them. Quite remarkable. I am not particularly religious but I am a good friend of Pam and I appreciate all her prayers for my family. And she is an excellent example of how to deal with adversity. Hats off to my friend Pam.